After a year of examining many studies concerning whether homework is effective, NYC P. S. Elementary School decided that math worksheets and essay assignments were actually a waste of time. In February, Principal Jane Hsu sent a letter to parents stating that the Pre-K(学前班) through fifth grade students wouldn't be given any traditional homework to encourage kids to free time for reading, playing outside, or doing activities they enjoy.

    “The negative effects of homework have been well established.” Hsu wrote in a note to parents. “They include, children's frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities and family time and, sadly for many, loss of interest in learning.”

    Some parents, however, disagree with the policy change, believing that a lack of focus will cause children to fall behind. Homework has been part of education from the beginning, and has increased in amount in recent years.

    Hsu's advice that children should read and spend time with their families has upset some parents to the point of considering pulling their children out of the school. This group feels that homework gives children a goal to work toward. Others feel so strongly about the importance of homework that they have begun giving their own homework to their children.

    An Australian Childhood Foundation survey finds that 71% of Australian parents feel they don't spend enough quality time with their children mainly because of the time spent running the household or the time spent helping with homework. Education experts in Australia are saying that parents should stop helping. Doing so will give kids more independence, give parents more free time, and help reduce the number of arguments caused by homework in the family.

    While some research suggests that homework has little academic benefit for elementary students, other researches show homework can help kids develop independence, and confidence. It can also contribute to a sense of belonging or control over their lives. When parents try to help their children with homework, the assistance can take away that feeling and can also make working parents more tired.

    In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself. Along the way he had completely run out of（用光了...） money and was forced to spend the night in his car. This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast.

    After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet. The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting. He bent down, and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor and said, “Son, you must have dropped this,”the owner said. The young man couldn't believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change, and headed West.

    On the way out of town, he began to understand what the owner did. Maybe nobody dropped the money at all.“Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn't embarrass(使尴尬)me. So I just made a promise to help other people if I can.”

    Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man. Now he lives near Kansas City. Each year he gives away thousands of dollars. He is known as the “Secret Santa” because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants. Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City.

    Tourism wasn't as important as it is today. In the past, only people with a good deal of money could travel on holidays to other countries. More people travel today than in the past because there is a growing middle class in many parts of the world; that is to say, people now have more money for travel. Special plane fares(费用) for tourists make travel less expensive and more attractive than ever before. One person doesn't travel for the same reason as another. But most people enjoy seeing countries that are different from their own. They also like to meet new people and to taste new food.

    Tourism causes many changes in a country and in people's lives. People build new hotels and restaurants and train native men and women as guides to show visitors interesting places. There're new nightclubs and other amusements. International tourism is clearly a big business.

    Lily went to London with her parents for a two-week vacation. She sent postcards to her friends.

    It's not just adults who have a thing or two to discuss with other people, babies too have their own social lives and enjoy group interaction, according to a world-first study.

    The breakthrough study conducted by psychologist Professor Ben Bradley, at Charles Sturt University, could completely transform the way child-care centres are set up. In their study, the researchers examined groups of nine-month-old babies in New South Wales and Britain.

    And they came across astounding (令人吃惊的) results. It was found that infants had "social brains" and focused not just on their mothers but on social life in groups as well.

    "They communicate with more than one baby at once, and show jealousy and generousness," said Professor Bradley.

    He added, "They develop their own meanings through group interaction, they notice if a group member is behaving differently and they take on roles, such as leaders and followers."

    "A baby who has a depressed mother tends to be withdrawn (内向的), but put that same baby in a group of its peers (同龄人) and they behave and interact like any other baby."

    It was the first all-baby group study ever to be conducted. "Most studies of babies concentrate on the infant-mother relationship, assuming that is the single foundation for mental health, but babies are constantly involved with groups of people other than their mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents and those taking care. Therefore, the mother-baby approach needs to be combined with a group approach," said Bradley.

    Phoebe Christison, a child-care worker at Camperdown Sunshine Bubs in Sydney's inner west, said she often noticed what appeared to be emotional attachments developed between toddlers.

    She said, "Joel (1) months and Isabella (2) months always like to hold hands when they sit in their high chairs and eat. And babies definitely show jealousy. They push and touch each other, and copy what the other is doing."

    Corals (珊瑚) are often described as undersea forests, but they are declining far more quickly than the Amazon. The coral reefs (礁) are likely to be among the first ecosystems to be wiped out by climate change.

    A temperature rise of just 1 to 2℃ can lead to the death of the algae (海藻) upon which corals depend, draining them of color and making the structure more fragile. These bleaching (脱色) events can be temporary if waters cool, but the more frequent they are and the longer they last, the greater the risk of damage is. But that's exactly what is happening. Bleaching was first observed in 1983. It was seen on a global level in 1998, then 2010, and then from 2015 to 2017. Most available scientific evidence tells us that unless we do something to limit warming to 1.5℃, we will lose 99% of the world's coral reefs in coming decades.

    But there are other threats beyond warming. Off the Philippine island of Palawan, its old reefs have been badly damaged by dirty water from the tourist holiday center, pollution from boats and overfishing. The area ought to be a shelter because it's one of the ocean regions most bearable to climate change. "Even here, we are losing our corals," said David Obura, chair of the Global Specialist Group in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. "We need to reduce stress from overfishing, coastal development, pollution and tourism."

    "I'm a generation of scientists watching them disappear. It's very depressing," Obura said. "Above 1.5℃, in about 50 years, they will be a treasure of historic movies and pictures, but very little to see in real life. Children born today may be the last generation to see coral reefs in all their glory."